Monday, January 25, 2010

ADDENDUM ITEMS --- History of HuffPost news thread moderation

ADDENDUM 1: Huff-Watch conducts three tests in 2009 that prove HuffPost is not only pre-moderating user comments on its news threads, it is fast-banning users who challenge its "protected" users' leftist orthodoxy

.ADDENDUM 2: In June 2008, one of HuffPost's most notorious, protected, long-term violators of its policies, "HumeSkeptic," posted confirmation --- from HuffPost itself --- that it is pre-moderating comments on news threads

ADDENDUM 3 --- OCT. 25, 2009: The same user acknowledged that HuffPost is pre-moderating (blocking) his comments from appearing

ADDENDUM 4 --- Oct. 26, 2009: On another site, one of HuffPost's most notorious violators, "KQuark" admitted that it rejects (via pre-moderation) or removes (after the fact) about half of his comments

ADDENDUM 5 --- NOV. 20, 2009: HuffPost is still falsely claiming that it "post-moderates" user comments on its news threads

ADDENDUM 6 --- FEB. 18, 2010: One of HuffPost's most egregious violators, "Typo-Knig," openly thanks the site for allowing him to be as "vile" as he wants to be

ADDENDUM 8 --- APR. 26, 2010: HuffPost is still falsely claiming that it "post-moderates" user comments on its news threads

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ADDENDUM 1: Huff-Watch conducts three tests in 2009 that prove HuffPost is not only pre-moderating user comments on its news threads, it is fast-banning users who challenge its "protected" users' leftist orthodoxy

The background of these "tests" is described here. Check them out for yourself:

7/26/09: The "MirrorMirror" TestDespite its Comment Policy's prohibition of comments containing vulgar, racist, personal attacks, HuffPost has made it a practice of reviewing, approving and deciding to publish such comments when they're directed at Sarah Palin and her children. This test was conducted to determine what HuffPost would do if another user copied and pasted these exact comments that HuffPost approved and published regarding Sarah Palin --- but reworded them to target Michelle Obama. 5/26/09: The "Jacob2217" TestWhen HuffPost a news story alleging that Venezuela and Bolivia are supplying uranium to Iran for its nuclear program, we anticipated that as in so many other cases, a torrent of comments containing Israel hatred and anti-Semitism would appear on the thread. A Huff-Watch operative conducted a test to determine if HuffPost would permit detailed, fact-based responses to the libels that were being hurled at Israel.

5/21/09: The "NewUser2" TestDespite its Comment Policy's prohibition of comments containing vulgar, racist, personal attacks, close observers of HuffPost know that user comments containing prolific anti-Christian, anti-Catholic, and anti-Semitic libels and hatred are quite common on its "news" threads. They also know that comments such as these, but directed at Islam, are de facto prohibited. When HuffPost published a new story concerning an attempted bombing of a New York synagogue, a Huff-Watch operative conducted this test, to determine if it would allow carbon copies of anti-Christian comments to be posted --- but reworded to assail Islam.

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ADDENDUM 2: In June 2008, one of HuffPost's most notorious, protected, long-term violators of its policies, "HumeSkeptic," posted confirmation --- from HuffPost itself --- that it is pre-moderating comments on news threads

While HuffPost has banned non-violating users who dare to challenge him or his "friends" --- after as few as six comments (detailed in Section 7 here) --- it has reviewed, approved and decided to publish innumerable, vicious, vulgar attacks on other users, while blocking others. Example: "Are you done f*cking your mother, or are you just taking a break?" (9/15/2008).Huff-Watch received from a confidential source the following screen capture, showing "HumeSkeptic" describing an email he received from HuffPost, in which it apologized to him for a technical glitch that prevented his "approved" comments from appearing:

HumeSkeptic I received an email from a very nice and polite Mod about six weeks ago, explaining what was happening.It's not their fault and not their doing. It is the system.The Mod claimed that he/she personally approved my comments,then watched those disappeer into thin air.[...]Posted 09:27 PM on 06/07/2008

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ADDENDUM 3 --- OCT. 25, 2009: The same user acknowledged that HuffPost is pre-moderating (blocking) his comments from appearing

On October 25, 2009, a Huff-Watch observer obtained several remarkable screen captures --- showing that according to "HumeSkeptic" (above), HuffPost was preventing his comments from appearing, thus further proving the fact that it is, and has been, pre-moderating user comments on its news threads:

The fact that a long-term, pathological, protected user like "HumeSkeptic" acknowledged this fact only further bolsters the reams of other proof Huff-Watch has obtained, that conclusively proves the allegations in this article.

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ADDENDUM 4 --- Oct. 26, 2009: On another site, one of HuffPost's most notorious violators, "KQuark," admitted that it rejects (via pre-moderation) or removes (after the fact) about half of his comments

"KQuark" is one of the egregious violators of HuffPost's (supposed) Comment Policy and Terms of Service, yet whom it has allowed to continue posting comments --- whereas it censors and bans non-violating users, after as few as six comments. See:

On October 25, 2009, at another blogsite that "KQuark" posts at, "PlanetPOV," he even admittedon this article that HuffPost refuses to publish 50% of the comments he submits, or removes them after-the-fact:

This is further proof that despite its denials elsewhere, HuffPost does, in fact, "pre-moderate" all user comments on news threads.

The context of the above post is particularly interesting.

As is documented in Addendum 5, here, HuffPost had recently re-banned one of his "friends," "kevenseven," among the most notorious violators of HuffPost's polices and terms of service, for the (estimated) fifteenth time. (Note: In April 2008, HuffPost allowed "kevenseven" to openly admit that he'd been interviewed in his home by the U.S. Secret Service for his threats and urgings of violence against its protectees, on HuffPost --- yet it continued to enable and protect him until but a few days earlier.)

"KQuark" wrote the post apparently to express some sort of sympathy and solidarity with "kevenseven," as if to validate the legitimacy of his allegations against HuffPost.

Ironically, his post also ended up helping Huff-Watch to prove the legitimacy of ours.

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ADDENDUM 5 --- NOV. 20, 2009: HuffPost is still falsely claiming that it "post-moderates" user comments on its news threads

Despite the fact that users and critics are well aware of the fact that HuffPost pre-moderates its user comments on news threads, and has been doing so for a very long time, its "FAQ: Comments and Moderation" and "Comment Policy" pages still falsely claim that it "post-moderates" such comments. The following screen captures were obtained, as indicated in the upper left corner, on November 20, 2009:

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ADDENDUM 6 --- FEB. 18, 2010: One of HuffPost's most egregious violators, "Typo-Knig," openly thanks the site for allowing him to be as "vile" as he wants to be

Although there are users who are more egregious violators of HuffPost's comment policy, "Typo-Knig" ranks pretty high up there, in terms of:

(b) celebrating the fact that whereas HuffPost bans the users he targets, he and his radical leftist "friends" are able to continue along, without interruption

But on February 18, 2010, he apparently felt so grateful to HuffPost that he decided to openly thank the site for publishing his self-admittedly "vile," abusive comments:

Here is a screencap of "Typo-Knig's" comment archive from Feb. 19, 2010. Note that HuffPost has published 5,800 of his comments:

Yet at the same time, as is documented in this special report, HuffPost continues to censor, on a minute-to-minute basis, and ban after as few as six comments, users who dare to express conservative viewpoints, or challenge or mock "protected" users such as "Typo-Knig."

More on "Typo-Knig" here --- including the fact that HuffPost banned him for three weeks, then fully reinstated him, after which he resumed his exact same behavior.

See our profile of "Look To The Left"here. This is clearly one of HuffPost's most deranged, yet most protected users.

Yet on this day, he admitted that HuffPost was blocking his comments --- in real time:

My friend the moderator is watching this thread like a hawk. But I don't get it....how come Haley can call himself names and we can't. I would love like the dickens to call Haley names. Can you guys please look the other way for a minute...or go have a smoke break....so I can let loose and call Haley a bunch of names....all of them offensive?Thanks.....and let me know when I can start

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ADDENDUM 8 --- APR. 26, 2010:HuffPost is still falsely claiming that it "post-moderates" user comments on its news threads

After all the proof we've documented, and after the times HuffPost management has been revealed for telling falsehoods, one might think they would finally change the copy on its "FAQ: Comments & Moderation" and "Comment Policy" pages so people would know the truth.

Instead, even at this late date - two years after it began pre-moderating all user comments on its news threads --- HuffPost still falsely claims that it post-moderates them:

Are you outraged by the fact that HuffPost keeps protecting the worst-of-the-worst violators of its comment policy and terms of service, while hiding behind the myth that it post-moderates their comments? Write to HuffPost management and let them know --- here's how.